Kattaikkuttu

This is the first book to offer a clear introduction to Kattaikkuttu (or Terukkuttu), a vibrant, vocal and physical outdoor Tamil theatre tradition from India. It describes the theatre's characteristic heroic nature as expressed through its principal, male kattai characters, explores its history, social status and ritual context, and examines the production of all-night plays.
After placing Kattaikkuttu in the wider, competitive context of the performing arts in India, Hanne M. de Bruin introduces readers to some of the debates about the form and provides an overview of the different elements that make up a Kattaikkuttu performance. It considers its performance spaces and the way the form has changed, such as its transition towards an independent and more professional theatre genre, as well as the opening up of the form to different castes and to women. It covers the production and frameworks of all-night performances, uses the Mahabharata play Karna Moksam as a case study and examines recent changes in the Kattaikkuttu repertory.
In addition, the book looks in more detail at the role of the performer, including the training of a Kattaikkuttu novice, the performance score of actor-singers that underlie a specific role or vesam, and a seasoned performer's agency in interpreting well-known roles. Finally, the study turns to recent innovations, in particular the creation of new work and the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam.

Hanne M. de Bruin is Programme Director and co-founder of Kattaikkuttu Sangam, a center for performing arts in Tamil Nadu, India, where Kattaikkuttu is performed and artists are trained in its traditions. From 2016-2018 she was a Fellow at the International Research Center for Interweaving of Performance Cultures, Berlin, and in 2019, 2020 and 2023 a guest-lecturer at Ashoka University, India. Her previous publications include Kattaikkuttu: Flexibility of a South Indian Theatre Tradition (1999), Karna Moksham or Karna's Death (English translation of an Kattaikkuttu play, 1998) and the co-edited volume Between Fame and Shame (2011).

List of Illustrations
Series Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration
Introduction
What's in a Name?
Tamil Theatre Histories
Discourse of Contempt
Alternative Views
Personal Note
Chapter 1. Kattaikkuttu: Aesthetic Characteristics and Historical and Socio-economic Contexts
What is Kattaikkuttu?
The Elements
Performance Spaces
Performances
Performers
Art as Labour
Theatre Companies
Emergence of Kattaikkuttu as a Distinct Genre
Summary
Chapter 2. Producing an All-night Performance
Performance Texts
Framework of a Performance
Building Blocks and Modes of Production
Performance Conventions and Recall Strategies
The Play Karna Moksam
Shifting Repertories
Summary
Chapter 3. Transmission, Interpretation and Innovation
Kattaikkuttu's Embodied Performance Knowledge
Interpretation
The Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam
Pakatai Tukil
Validation and Aesthetics
Notes
References
Index